Page 40 of Catch

“Hey Miles?” Blue hollered at me and I turned back around.

“Yeah?”

“Are you gonna come in here for a beer anytime soon? Linc has been coming in, but I haven’t seen you in a couple weeks.”

“You’re only asking because you know I tip well,” I smiled.

“A girl has to live,” she laughed, shrugging.

I backed out of the door as her laughter faded away. In a few weeks, I knew I’d be back to my old self, but at that moment, all I wanted to do was get home to Lox.

Chapter Twenty-Two

LOXLEY

Loop,loop, swoop. Loop, loop, swoop.

Why did I think crocheting was a good idea? Who let me click "order" on three skeins of yarn and a tiny hook thingy? It was hopeless, and no amount of YouTube tutorials were going to teach me anything beyond a simple chain stitch.

But the good news? I'd made a gorgeous, um, necklace for Miles.

The kitchen door creaked open, then shut. Boots thudded across the wooden floor, their weight unmistakable.

"Lox?"

"In here!" I called, biting my lip as I attempted another loop. My fingers fumbled, the yarn slipping slightly before I corrected it.

Miles entered the living room, his presence familiar and grounding, as if we’d always lived together. I stole a glance at him, just long enough to catch his amused expression before focusing back on my work.

"What in the world are you doing?" He chuckled, nudging my feet aside so he could sink onto the couch.

"I decided to take up a hobby," I said, holding up the mess of yarn with mock pride. "It was either this or tiling showers, and Ifigured we should leave that to the professionals. Look! I made you something."

I reached for the chain I’d abandoned at seventeen inches and proudly presented it. Miles took it, holding it up to inspect it as his brow furrowed in concentration.

"Oh," he said, nodding slowly. He lifted it even higher, as if a different angle might reveal what it was, but I laughed and took pity on him.

"It's a necklace," I explained.

"A yarn necklace?"

"You got a problem with that?" I wielded the crochet hook like a tiny sword, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

"No, ma’am," he said, grinning. "Not at all. In fact, it’s rather charming." His words were teasing, but there was something warm in the way he looked at me as he slid it over his head, getting it tangled in his radio and badge.

"Here, let me," I said, shifting onto my knees beside him. My fingers brushed against the cool metal of his badge as I untangled the yarn, smoothing it down against his chest. A silly piece of string, but somehow, the sight of it there made me smile.

"All better," I murmured.

"How’s it look?" he asked, tilting his head dramatically.

"Like a shitty piece of yarn," I laughed.

"But I’m wearing it anyway," he declared. "And now you have to make a matching one."

I smirked. "Like our own version of friendship bracelets?"

"Exactly."